Review – Marvel’s Avengers

With thanks to the folks at Marvel, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics, today I’m taking a look at the third-person brawler, Marvel’s Avengers. As ever find the full video review here and the extended written review below, each including our common sense parent’s guide

The Basics

Marvel’s Avengers is a sprawling third-person adventure, which will see you getting hands on with all of your favourite members of the Avengers team (probably!). You’ll take control of the five big names early on, getting some hands on time with Iron Man, Black Widow, Cap, Hulk and Thor as you battle to prevent A-Day.

After abject failure in San Francisco, you’ll instead move into the rather stretchy shoes of the title’s main protagonist Kamala Khan, known in comic circles as Ms. Marvel. Using her fantastic powers you’ll have to re-assemble the Avengers, now scattered and in hiding as the world turns against them. In a world where the AIM Corporation has effectively outlawed superheroes, you’ll go underground to rebuild the squad and get the world back on an even keel.

Multiplayer is best to get a hold of after you’ve completed the main storyline, as you could find spoilers ahead. The in game action is much the same as during the campaign, however you’ll work with up to three friends (or random internet personalities, aren’t they great) to complete various missions. The action is so closely linked with the campaign that you’ll soon get the hand of an at first daunting gear system, as well as varied upgrade trees for each member of the squad.

Parent’s Eye View

Marvel’s Avengers is rated by PEGI at 16 and above, and by the ESRB at T for Teen. I’m a little on the fence on this one, as it’s going to come down to the individual child. Your measuring stick here should really come down to your thoughts on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the content you’ll find in game is at around the same levels as the Avengers’ films.

There have been a couple of spikes in violence during cut-scenes (typically involving the Hulk). While I’ve seen no blood at all, there are a couple of bits where I’ve winced as some over the top battering and aggression (but then… what else do you expect from the Hulk). There’s a little language in the title, as well as fear with some grotesque visuals from the main antagonist.

In addition, the online play here is definitely best with party chat, and will likely lead to online chat with others. Well moderated chat settings will avoid this, but it is something to watch out for. Outside those, and in the main gameplay, the bloodless combat and “we all fall down” deaths aren’t causing me much concern.

It would be remiss of me, however, to not mention the good messages the game brings. Much like the MCU films, teamwork and acceptance are both championed in the title. In addition the inclusion of Kamala Khan, Marvel’s first Muslim headliner (complete with burkini and all) has been refreshing to see.

The Run Down

Visuals – Fair: I was really hoping for a little more polish here on the visuals. During gameplay things are actually pretty great, and armour is shiny where it should be, explosions are pretty and things seem great. In cut-scenes, however, things fall down in a big way, with flickering backgrounds as well as objects and sometimes whole characters appearing and disappearing. In addition, on a couple of occasions the in game experience has been hampered with some in your face visual glitches.

Audio – Great: The musical score for the title here is great, leaning heavily on the themes we know from the film franchise. In addition, sound effects such as Stark’s powering up repulsors or Thor’s hammer strikes have been woven well into the game sound, providing a new but familiar experience. Voice acting absolutely stands out in the title, with a strong voice cast really bringing these fan-favourite characters to life.

Narrative – Great: The campaign mode didn’t really play a big part in the pre-release beta, but it absolutely should have done. It’s a shame that it’s a mostly solo experience, but the campaign mode is absolutely outstanding and provides a brilliant story set around the fall and rebirth of the Avengers team. Dialogue is well written, and it genuinely feels like a story you might find within the comics.

Replay – Great: While I wasn’t really expecting it, the gear system in game has proven to be fairly easy to use. It’s a little daunting at first, but after you get used to it, there are a lot of gear upgrades you can perform for both campaign and multiplayer. In addition, there are a huge number of collectable comics and outfits in the title as well, which has meant that I haven’t felt at all pushed towards microtransactions. Multiplayer really opens the title up, and the promised future content seems very positive as well.

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The Verdict

Overall the Pixel Bandits Shawarma Level for Marvel’s Avengers is Grab It. Marvel’s Avengers is a great third-person brawler with a campaign narrative worthy of lifting Mjolnir itself. The multiplayer is good fun, and whether you’re looking for a solo or online experience, I think you’ll have a good time with this one overall.
However, there are definitely some issues here. Visual issues have significantly impacted immersion for me, drawing away from a narrative which could otherwise have been flawless. I’ve also had a couple of crashes back to dashboard and some issues with connectivity. These are definitely things which the teams need to get on top of, especially with the as-a-service nature of the title moving forward.

Due to the issues, I started this review aiming to finish with a 3/4 rating of Enjoyable. However as I’ve been recording and writing here, I’ve realised that even with these issues, I would still recommend that you pick this one up. There are setbacks, so if you’re the kind of gamer who (understandably) doesn’t want to get in with an unpolished title, then give it a little while for bugs and glitches to be fixed. If you can put up with them, however, this one provides a great Avengers experience, with a campaign that begs to be played.

Pick It Up

If This one has tickled your gaming tastebuds, you can grab it on;

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